Column: Remembering Pearl Harbor

On Dec. 7, 1941, at 7:55 a.m., the Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii, was attacked by Japanese torpedo and bomber planes.

The attack ended just before 10 a.m. In less than two hours, the American forces at Pearl Harbor were devastated. Twenty-one ships of the U.S. Pacific Fleet were sunk or damaged. More than 2,400 Americans were dead and another 1,100 were wounded. In fact, all eight battleships moored on Battleship Row - the Arizona, California, Maryland, Nevada, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and West Virginia - were sunk or damaged during the Japanese assault. The USS Arizona exploded and sank, with nearly 1,200 on board paying the ultimate sacrifice.

The attack on Pearl Harbor prompted our nation's involvement in World War II nearly three-quarters of a century ago. It was the greatest war of our time. While to some it might seem like an era from the past, we must always remember and learn from our history and from the men and women of our "Greatest Generation."

The youngest of the living Pearl Harbor survivors are among the eldest World War II veterans and average 90 years old now. Of the nearly 30,000 veterans of World War II still living in Wisconsin, a remaining few Pearl Harbor survivors are still with us and able to tell what they witnessed on that fateful day of Dec. 7, 1941.

At this year's Pearl Harbor Day ceremony at the Wisconsin Veterans Home at King, Clyde Stephenson of Appleton will share his story with us. Stephenson joined the Marine Corps in January 1940 at age 19. He was assigned for duty on the battleship USS California when it was sunk at Pearl Harbor. On the morning of Dec. 7, he was at Fort Weaver when the attack began. Stephenson was sent to the ocean beach to guard against a possible land force.

Stephenson tells of his experience: "We secured positions on the sand butts - which are about 10 feet high - and fired at the low-flying planes. As soon as the Jap planes noticed our large machine gun battery, they tried unsuccessfully to strafe it. They tried this several times, and it cost them at least three planes while we had two men with slight wounds.

"Often planes came too near and took some hits. One caught on fire and the pilot tried vainly to stop it, but after circling for a few seconds bailed out. Simultaneously, over this plane, another one went into a tailspin and this pilot bailed also. ? Our other victim was close on the tail of a flying fortress that was attempting a landing a Hickam while avoiding areas of fire. After holding fire for the large plane to pass, the entire battery let go at the Jap plane. She turned up and headed away towards sea but it never made it back to the carrier."

After Pearl Harbor, Stephenson served as a radio repair master sergeant in a Marine Aviation VMF Corsair squadron in the Pacific until the war was over in 1945.

The men and women who won that war have made a contribution to our nation and the world that may never again be equaled. Many received little glory or fame, but the men and women of our Greatest Generation made a contribution to humanity that will probably never be equaled. Let us all remember and appreciate their sacrifices, and take a moment to honor the legacy of these heroes and especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

John A. Scocos is the secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs. He is an Iraq War veteran.

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Column: Remembering Pearl Harbor

On Dec. 7, 1941, at 7:55 a.m., the Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii, was attacked by Japanese torpedo and bomber planes. The attack ended just before 10 a.m. In less than two hours, the American

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